Independent Australia’s new UK correspondent, Paul Bains, reports exclusively on the London riots from his home, which is in a badly affected part of north London.
As a resident of Ealing in north London, close to the rioting and devastation you have been watching on TV, I would sum up the overwhelming emotion right now as — disbelief. Disbelief at the destruction wrought upon the very same neighbourhoods these so-called “disaffected youth” reside, and disbelief about the wholesale and coordinated destruction of homes and business right across this great city. It is surreal. We sit watching scenes on TV that seem straight out of Gaza City, yet we can hear the sirens and helicopters and know it is happening nearby.
Sleep was impossible for those – like me – who were close to the areas being looted. The sounds of emergency vehicles and helicopters constantly overhead until the very small hours put paid to most thoughts of sleep, let alone the worry that our street will be subject to the callous acts of burglary, thuggery and vandalism seen in so many places elsewhere.
So, who are the “disaffected youth” said to be behind this anarchy? Well, the on-the-ground view is that behind the young people are adult gang members whose aim is to benefit from the loot stolen by the more organised youth. The rest seem to be opportunists who see a way to obtain the iPod, iPhone, laptop, or whatever other goodie they desire.
Yesterday morning, as the adults emerged from their homes to go to work, there was a sense of quiet but simmering anger at the police who, probably through no fault of their own, were unable to deal with flying gangs of looters. There was anger at the young people running amok and causing such pain and destruction for no apparent reason and at the politicians on either side who have been seen spouting either staunch messages of defiance – bring in the army, water cannons, plastic bullets and more extreme measures – or who have been painting the perpetrators as the sorry victims of cuts, closure of services for young people and the alienation of young people due lack of jobs and opportunity.
Of course, all of those factors have a part to play in the tragic events we have seen, but now is not the time to come to any conclusions — the issues here are too many and too involved to be dealt with in such short and simple sound-bites.
A chink of light appeared in the gloom in the afternoon, as people came onto the streets with brooms, tea stalls and soup stands to clean up, chat to neighbours and make a very British point — we will not be intimidated off our streets, we will continue and we will overcome this violent and pointless destruction. These were all spontaneous and free expressions – not stage managed as a photo opportunity for some politician — but rather a true expression of solidarity and community; a quiet coming together of different colours, races, religions and ages to tidy up, keep that upper lip stiff and show a sense of unity.
Thankfully the scourge of racism has not surfaced, though commentators on both sides have a vested interest in trying. Thankfully, this country is no longer so narrow of mind that it will fall into those sorts of medieval reactions.
This is London after all and, although the make-up of the city has changed, its underling spirit remains as solid and as steely it was in 2007, the IRA bombings and 1940-41. Surprising though it seems, the quiet British resolve has been on show for the world to see during these latest riots and demonstrates the success of integration over the last 100 years.
The latest from Ealing this Tuesday night, where there are the shells of burnt out cars, broken doorways and those made homeless? Well, the police have just issued a warning of more riots and looting. We hold our breath and wait.
We have much to hold onto during this dark time and also much to repair, though whether we can do that under the current world economic circumstances remains uncertain.
